Portable device for dispensing cables

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for dispensing electrical or nonelectrical cables, such as television coaxial cables, and a spool to be used together therewith. The apparatus includes a container having a cover for introducing and extracting a spool holding a cable coil and wheels for supporting, centering, and freely rotating the spool inside the container. The spool includes male and female mutually mating flanges. Each of the flanges include an inwardly projecting central part having a frusto conical shape for blocking the innermost turns of the cable coil. At least one of the flanges includes a circular race in which an elastic ring is inserted for assuring cable dragging during rewinding or unwinding of the spool.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a spool holder for electrical or nonelectrical cable coils, like the television coaxial cables, and a spoolto be used together with such a holder.

2. Description of the Prior Art

At present, cable coils are wound on a plastic bobbin which, when theable is fully used, is thrown out or, sometimes, returned to thesupplier. This kind of spool packaging is surely uncomfortable and notmuch ecological because there is a lot of plastic thrown out, especiallysince a bobbin may have large size, as it is usually wound also by a 250meters of cable.

Another disadvantage of this kind of packaging is the considerable costof the plastic bobbin which, as said before, often has a large size.

To reduce costs and have a more ecological packaging, coils were devisedwound in a way to be unthreaded from their support: the coils, withoutthe spool, were accomodated or inserted in a cardboard container,material which could be recycled easier than plastic. A disadvantage ofthis kind of packaging is the considerable complexity in rewinding thecable. The known systems are also not practical for the user orinstaller, which is often obliged to work in uncomfortable positions,like on ladders top, and to carry a cable spool having at least one handbusy: it goes without saying that in this case the user equilibrium onthe ladder is really unstable to the detriment of his safety.

Document CA-A-1260445 discloses a spool holder for heavy duty wire,including a container provided with a cover or door for the introductionand extraction of a spool, provided with a male and female flange with aprojecting central part, but does not deal with the problems caused bythin cables in a portable dispensing device, and more particularly thatof avoiding free rotation of the coil around the spool and improvingdrag on the coil during unwinding and rewinding operations. Rewinding ofthe heavy wire dispensed in excess is a difficult operation requiringopening of the holder.

Document EP-A-0570302 discloses a portable box for wire, cable or thelike showing the same problems affecting the device of CA-A1260445 andmoreover excluding the possibility of rewinding the cable paid-off inexcess as the reel is provided with a rachet wheel mechanism.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above-mentioned problems and disadvantageous are brilliantly solvedby a device for dispensing cable having the features recited in thecharacterizing part of independent claim 1. The dependent claims definefurther advantageous features of the device according to the invention.

The inventive spool holder substantially consists of a box likecontainer supplied with a lid which can be closed again to obtain acomfortable fitting of a spool provided with a cable coil, and also itsextraction when it is fully consumed. The spool inside the holder of thepresent invention has an anti/clockwise free movement so to unwind theright length of cable but also to partially rewind it when it is toolong.

The inventive spool is "sectional" i.e. consisting of two cooperatingflanges to block a cable coil, and removable to receive another coilwhen the first one is finished.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Now follows a detailed description of an invention embodiment, by way ofexample non limiting the invention itself, reference having made to therespective accompanying drawings which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the spool holder according to thepresent invention, in which some of the internal (or non visible)sections are drawn by dotted lines;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same spool holder shown in FIG. 1,but with the raised door to allow the fitting of the spool provided witha coil;

FIG. 3 shows the locking door latches of the spool holder shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 4 is a partially exploded perspective view of the spool accordingto the present invention with a coil placed between the two flanges ofthe spool;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the spool according to thepresent invention; and

FIG. 6 is a scheme of the different steps to load the cable coil on thespool and to prepare the spool holder according to the presentinvention.

Of course, similar reference characters refer to similar partsthroughout the various figures of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 10 generallydesignates a spool holder including a container 11 housing a spool 12.The container 11 is provided with a cover or door 13 provided with acouple of rings 14 to anchor a belt or a shoulder-strap 14, to makeeasier to the user the conveyance of the container 11 mainly when he hasto climb up ladders or is working in uncomfortable or impracticableplaces. Preferably, a handle 47 is obtained or applied on the cover 13.

The cover is hinged near one of the upper corners of the lateralsurfaces 23 of the container and is provided with a couple of springdoor latches 49 for being releasingly locked to the container lateralsurfaces 23 near the other upper corner of said lateral surfaces; atleast one of these lateral surfaces is provided with an opening 22 nearits central section.

FIG. 3 shows the couple of door latches according to the presentlypreferred embodiment. In practice, there are two bolts 27 which arenormally pushed outwards by two wire springs 25 placed around anintermediate portion of bolts 27, between a bolt shoulder 28 and ashoulder 13' integral with the cover 13; in the closed condition, theouter end of the bolts 27 engages corresponding holes 24 in the lateralsurfaces. The cover unlocking occurs when approaching with two fingersthe projections 26 located near the inner end of the two bolts 27.

Opposite the cover or door 13 there is a bottom 31 from which protrudenon-slip or non-slide stoppers 48 preventing that the spool holder, whenstanding on a flat surface, be dragged out during the cable unwinding.

The container of the present invention is completed by a rear side 21and a front side 34. Preferably, the rear side 21 is substantially fullyclosed and can suitably be used like base for applying a label or card,showing in a clear and synthetic way how to use the spool holder and thespools according to the present invention; FIG. 6 shows by way ofexample a sample of such an instruction diagram.

The front side 34', however, is preferably almost fully open, except fora lower strip 34', all this not to make unduly heavier the container, tomake the spool fitting easier, and to allow the user to check the amountof the cable left.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment, near the lower strip 34' aset of housings 35 is obtained to hold tools such snips, pliers, wireremovers, screw drivers and so on (not illustrated), that user alwayswants to have at hand.

Inside the container there is an elastic friction strap 20, the functionof which will be made clear hereinafter. One end of the strap 20 is rearside 11 while the other end is fixed to the inner surface of the bottom31. The width, length and elasticity of the strap 20 will allow it tomatch the shape of the cable coil 15 arranged on the spool 12, describedbelow, and to adhere to the outermost cable winding.

Inside the container 11, near the lower corners of the two lateralsurfaces 23, are provided freely rotating wheels 19 having respectiveraces 18, the base of which is preferably covered by a rubber band.

Once completed the spool holder detailed description, the structure ofthe spool 12 of the present invention, to be used together with it, willnow be described in detail.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the reference numeral 12 generallydesignates 12 the spool according to the present invention, consistingof two flanges or half-spools, namely a male cable flange 30 and afemale cable flange 32. The purpose of the spool 12 is to support acable coil 15, which is usually supplied to the user, bound by clamps(not illustrated) to avoid its unrolling.

Each flange 30 and 32 has a preferably frusto-conical central section 29preferably, with a fixed number of first ribs 36 of the same height, andsecond ribs 37 of the same height too, but shorter than the previousones; these second ribs are provided to compensate the internal diametergap of the coil 15.

In a preferred embodiment, there are six first ribs 36 and thirty secondribs 37.The shape of the first ribs is preferably triangular while thatof the second ribs is rectangular or trapezoidal. Naturally, number andshape of these first and second ribs may change with regard to theforegoing description, without falling out of the scope of theinvention.

Each flange 30 and 32 ends on the inner side with a surface 38 which,after the spool assembling, will be in mating contact with the innersurface 38 of the other one and, on the outer side with a plate 16acting like a coil limitation shoulder.

To make easier the mutual assembling of the two flanges 30 and 32protruding bolts 39 and respective centering holes 40 are provided oneach surface 38: in other words, the protruding bolts 39 of the femaleflange 32 are inserted into the holes 40 of the male flange 30 and,similarly, the protruding bolts 39 of the male flange 30 are insertedinto the holes 40 of the female flange 32, so that the various ribs 36and 37 of the two flanges coincide and are continuous. The tapered shapeof the flanges causes that, if the diameter of the hole 15' of the coil15 would be larger than that of the flange near the surface 38, firstribs 36 would however engage, at least partially, the innermost turnsconstituting the walls of the hole 15' and the coil 15 would be in anycase blocked by interference.

The two flanges are mutually locked by a thumbscrew 41 (FIG. 5)preferably provided with a knob 42 (FIG. 4) located inside the axialinner part 43 of the male flange 30: the thumbscrew threaded end isreceived into a threaded hole 46, made or obtained in the female flange32.

The width L of the coil 15 is not always constant; in fact, during thecoil 15 winding, it may occur that some windings have a width larger orsmaller than the standard width L. In this case, when the coil isenclosed within the flanges 30 and 32, and the system as a whole isplaced in the above described container mentioned above, it may occurthat, since the coil 15 does not adhere perfectly to the outer shoulderplates 16 of the flanges 30 or 32, it is impossible to well unwind orrewind the cable of the coil itself. To prevent this, each flange isprovided with an elastic ring 44 (FIG. 5) placed in a correspondingcircular race 45 opposite to the surface 38, perfectly adjacent to thelimitation shoulder 16. In so doing, the coil 15 is blocked between theelastic rings 44 which assure its dragging when the cable need to berewound or unwound.

Once the coil 15 is inserted between the two flanges 30 and 32, mutuallyblocked by the thumbscrew 41, and the spool-coil unit is placed in thecorresponding container 11 mentioned above, it is possible to unwind thecable by pulling its free end or to rewind itself on the coil 15 byacting on pins 17 of the female flange 32. Alternately to the pins 17,of course, it is possible to turn the spool 12 by opportunely rotatingthe knob 42; in this case, it must be taken care of placing the spoolinto its holder so that the knob rotation during the cable rewindingdoes not produce a screw loosening.

The spool 12 centering inside the container 11 is assured by the wheels19 in the races 18 of which is housed the edge of the outer shoulderplates 16. The container internal size also does not allow the spool tomove inside too much. The elastic strap 20, at last, fits in with thecable coil size and prevents it to be involuntarily unwound by pressingelastically on it.

At last, the various steps of spool loading and spool holder preparationaccording to the present invention will be briefly described, alsoreferring to FIG. 6 which substantially reproduces a sample of labelapplied to the container rear side:

1) if present, the packaging thin film is taken off from the coil,thrown away and possibly recycled;

2) the coil, still bound by clamps, is threaded on the protruding partof a first flange, preferably placed on a support, and then the secondflange is threaded so as to enclose the coil;

3) mutual adjustment and centering phases of the flanges take place;

4) the thumbscrew is tightened by acting on the knob;

5) after having lifted the container cover, the loaded spool is placedin it;

6) now the coil is in a safe position, then the clamps are cut;

7) the cover is closed and locked by acting on the door latches;

8) if desired, a shoulder-strap is anchored to the ring hooks on thecover; and

9) the user wears the shoulder-strap and the spool holder can be easilycarried to the utilisation place.

Even if the preferred material for the spool and its relative holder isplastics and the implementing process is obtained by molding, it ispossible to use other materials or other manufacturing methods. Theillustrated and described container is made as a one piece, of courseexcept for the cover.

It is clear that to the illustrated and described embodiment it ispossible to make many changes, adjustments, variations and replacementsof parts with other ones having same functionality without departingnevertheless from the scope defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A portable device for dispensing cables,comprising:a spool holder of cable coils including a spool and acontainer having a cover for the introduction and extraction of saidspool; and a plurality of wheels for supporting, centering and freelyrotating said spool inside the container, the spool including a male anda female mutually mating flange, each of said male and female flangeshaving an inwardly projecting central part having a frusto conical shapefor blocking the innermost turns of the cable coil and having a circularrace adjacent the flange and an elastic ring inserted in said race, thecable coil being in contact with and trapped along the coil widthbetween said elastic ring of said male flange and said elastic ring ofsaid female flange.
 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein each ofthe plurality of wheels of the spool holder includes a race having abase covered by an elastic band.
 3. The device according to claim 1,further including an elastic strap to elastically push on an outermostwinding of the cable coil arranged in the spool, said elastic strapbeing fixed on an inner surface of a rear side of the container and onan inner surface of a bottom of the container.
 4. The device accordingto claim 1, wherein the container further includes a set of housingsfixed on a front side of the container for holding tools.
 5. The deviceaccording to claim 1, further including a label applied to thecontainer, the label containing indicia instructing about spool loadingand spool holder preparation.
 6. The device according to claim 1,further including:a shoulder strap operatively connected to the cover ofthe spool holder for conveying the spool holder.
 7. The device accordingto claim 1, further comprising a plurality of anti-slide members fixedon a bottom of the container.
 8. The device according to claim 1,further comprising at least one latch member, the at least one latchmember releasably securing the cover to the container.
 9. The deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the projecting central part of the maleand female flanges further includes a plurality of ribs extendingradially therefrom.
 10. The device according to claim 9, wherein theplurality of ribs includes a first set of ribs and a second set of ribs,the first set of ribs extending outwardly from the projecting centralpart a greater distance than the second set of ribs.
 11. The deviceaccording to claim 10, wherein said first set of ribs are substantiallytriangular in cross-section.
 12. The device according to claim 10,wherein the second set of ribs are substantially trapezoidal incross-section.
 13. The device according to claim 9, wherein theplurality of ribs includes a first set of ribs and a second set of ribs,said first set of ribs being substantially triangular in cross-section.14. The device according to claim 13, wherein the second set of ribs aresubstantially trapezoidal in cross-section.
 15. The device according toclaim 9, wherein the plurality of ribs includes a first set of ribs anda second set of ribs, the second set of ribs being substantiallytrapezoidal in cross-section.